Noys Toise

Tanner Galvin’s NOYS TOISE from Craig Mederios on Vimeo.

Take a look at Tanner Galvin’s Noys Toise circuit bent musical instruments. Very pretty and the documentary above shows a guy into what he’s doing.

“Tanner Galvin’s Noys Toise is a short documentary about Tanner Galvin, a Portland artist who creates custom musical instruments out of old electronic toys and instruments in a process known as circuit bending.” – Laughing Squid

For more info: noystoise.com

This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on March 1, 2013 at 8:24 am, filed under circuit bending and tagged , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.



Robotspeak

Robotspeak from Oliver Chesler on Vimeo.

San Francisco Studio from Oliver Chesler on Vimeo.

On my recent trip to San Francisco I went by the synth shop Robotspeak. They have some cool stuff inside. New synths like the Minitaur and old cool items like Opcode Studio Vision Pro on display. They also have a modular workshop where you learn how to build your own modular. Tom Oberheim lives nearby and as you can see by the photo Bob Moog visited the store. The only thing in the store I wanted to buy wasn’t for sale. It was a circuit Vtech Tiny Tot Driver. Just see the video above to know what I am talking about. When he hit the horn I started offering money. Before I returned to NY I went by my brother’s studio space and showed him (he’s in the video above) and his friend Chris how cool the Doepfer Dark time is. You can see all the photos from my trip on flickr: click here.

“Once a Month, learn how to build Modules for you Modular synth setup. This is an ongoing workshop series that will feature different synth designers and focus on different components each month.” – robotspeak.com

For more info: robotspeak.com

This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on August 24, 2012 at 11:56 am, filed under circuit bending, hardware, synthesizer and tagged , , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.



Gieskes HSS3i

HSS3i by thingstocome

A few weeks ago I purchased a Hard Soft Synth 3i or HSS3i from Bleep Labs. It’s a creation of a Dutch man know as Gieskes. The unit creates analog video and audio. As you can hear in the recording I made above it’s quite interesting. You will know instantly if your the type of person who will like this thing. It’s very THX1138. For some more photos of what you get: click here. Expect to see some of the video output from the HSS3i in my live shows.

“The Hard Soft Synth 3i is an indescribable audio / video generator by noisemaker extraordinaire, Gieskes.” – Bleep Labs

For more info: gieskes.nl

This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on October 8, 2011 at 5:42 am, filed under circuit bending, hardware, sounds and tagged , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.



Chinese Animal Apple

I think a lot of this Circuit Bending business is just an excuse some adults are using to allow them to keep playing with kiddie toys. It’s a good excuse! This Chinese Animal Apple was bent by Freeform Delusion. You can buy some of their bent stuff on ebay: click here

“English & Chinese Speaking Animals Apple. Switched mono mini jack output. Rainbow LED. On/Off Toggle Switch. Pitch Up/Down Control.” – eecouk

via Matrixsynth

This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:35 am, filed under circuit bending and tagged , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.



Experimental Garage Sale 2011

If your in Chicago on June 4 be sure to go to the 4th Annual Experimental Garage Sale. I think it’s a good chance to pick up a unique “musical” instrument and talk with some top benders. Head to the official Facebook Event page to see a list of sellers: link

“12 sellers who will have plenty circuit bent devices, un-bent toys, electronic parts, kits, experimental instruments, contact microphones, guitar pedals, art, and more. The sale will begin rain or shine at 12:00 PM and last until 6:00 PM.” – getlofi.com

For more info: facebook.com/event.php?eid=108002909231786

This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on May 7, 2011 at 8:39 am, filed under circuit bending and tagged , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.



NES Guitar

Perth Australian band The Gizzards get on television rocking a NES Guitar and other bent toys. Their facebook page stats the bands influences are, “Sheds, pools, cats and casios.”. I was wondering if they would make a worthy blog post then I saw his cape: posted!

“The Gizzards performed on WTV’s FNL (Friday Night Live) show.” – ohmissjane

For more info: facebook.com/pages/The-Gizzards

via GetLoFi

This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on March 19, 2011 at 4:50 pm, filed under circuit bending and tagged , , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.



Monotron Hacking

Collin’s Lab: Monotron Hacking from MAKE magazine on Vimeo.

I found Korg Monotron’s to be the perfect priced gift for my music friends. So far I’ve given two of these little guys away.

“The Monotron mini analog synthesizer was made to be hacked – learn how to add your own control-voltage inputs and check out some sample synthing played via strobe light.” – Make Magazine

For more info: korg.com/monotron

photo credit: Nurettin Mert AYDIN

This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on March 8, 2011 at 6:36 am, filed under circuit bending, hardware, synthesizer and tagged , , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.



Muff Wiggler Brooklyn

September 2010 Wiggler meetup from Pete Shambler on Vimeo.

Here’s a nice video from a meetup in Brooklyn of members of the Muff Wiggler forum. DIY meets modular.

“… Muff Wiggler enjoys scaring friends, family, neighbours and cats alike with bizarre and frightning electro-analog mayhem.” – muffwiggler.blogspot.com

Visit the forum: muffwiggler.com

This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on September 27, 2010 at 1:21 pm, filed under circuit bending, synthesizer, video and tagged , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.



Music Toys found in The Bronx

A few weeks ago The New York Times had an article on The Bronx neighborhood Kingsbridge. Sometimes I ride my bike through Kingsbridge on my way to Inwood Park. Recently I stopped in the thrift store the article mentioned and played with some old music toys. If you can’t see the flash slideshow above: click here

“3 P.M. Dive in at Unique Thrift Store, 218 West 234th Street, (718) 548-1190. Forget the secondhand shops in Manhattan and Brooklyn, where hipsters and bargain hunters have already snapped up the good stuff. Here you can take your time combing through the Hawaiian shirts, vintage blouses and snow parkas. Recently spotted gems include a corduroy suit for $9.99, a giant feather-bedecked floppy hat, and a book about high-stakes gambling called “The Man With the $100,000 Breasts.” – The New York Times

For more info: New Life, but Still a Small-Town Feel

This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on July 7, 2010 at 2:59 am, filed under circuit bending, drum machine, hardware, synthesizer and tagged , , , , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.



Reed Ghazala the father of circuit bending

The Sound Builders series continues with a visit to Cincinnati and Reed Ghazala. He’s got some great looking toys!

“Reed takes us into his workshop where we get a glimpse into his world of circuit bending, exploring the history and evolution of this art. Reed bends our minds by walking us through the struggles and triumphs he endured while establishing the art of circuit bending. We tinker with several of Reed’s machines, manipulating sound and opening our minds to this fascinating art form. He works on a project for Motherboard while explaining the method to this music madness, his process, his teachings, as well as the different inventions he has created over the years.” – motherboard.tv

For more episodes: motherboard.tv

This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on June 6, 2010 at 5:02 am, filed under circuit bending and tagged , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.